Cadaques, Spain, has been home and/or playground to probably every artist of note of the past century, including
Picasso, Max Ernst, Marcel DuChamp, Luis Bunuel, John Cage, Garcia Lorca, David Hockney, Richard Hamilton, Rene Magritte,
Juan Miro, Man Ray, Walt Disney, and even Albert Einstein, who went there on holiday to play his violin.

Adding
to its many attractions at the time of Venosa's arrival was the presence of the great Maestro himself, Salvador Dali, with
whom Venosa was fortunate to spend many interesting moments from his first visit in July, 1972 until Dali's departure from
Cadaques in 1980. As Venosa writes in Noospheres, "Contrary to expectations, Dali was quite accessible. All you had to do
was get him on the telephone - which was easy enough as he was listed in the local directory - and answer his first question
which was always, 'Are you beautiful?' If your reply was a confident 'Yes!' you would be invited to show up at his Port Lligat
home at 7:00 p.m. to sit beside his phallic-shaped swimming pool and drink pink champagne with aristocrats, vagabonds and
some of the most interesting people you'd ever hope to meet. This was Dali's ever-changing nightly court, which, of course,
always included entertainment: Gypsy flamenco dances and singers; a group of lithe and lovely ballerinas, who, at Dali's suggestion,
would disrobe and dance in the nude; jugglers, magicians and ranting prophets; and always the itinerant troubadour inspired
to peak performance by the presence of the great Dali.

Afterward,
an elite group of ten or twelve would be selected to accompany the Maestro to his large table at El Barroco restaurant, where
the fiesta would continue deep into the night over racks of lamb, Crema Catalana and an endless fountain of Perelada wine
and champagne. These were memorable evenings indeed."

Abdul Mati Klarwein, Salvadore Dali, H.R. Giger, and Martina Hoffmann’s works are all featured.In the www.skeptically.org site there are articles by Dr.Albert Hofmann and a couple of photos of blotter
acid celebrating the man, who had his 100th birthday on 06.The cover
of a book by Timothy Leary and a cartoon are also to be found there

The Fantastic Realism
art of Robert Venosa has been exhibited worldwide and is represented in major collections, including those of noted museums,
rock stars and European aristocracy. In addition to painting, sculpting and film design (pre-sketches and conceptual design
for the movie Dune, and Fire in the Sky for Paramount Pictures, and the upcoming Race for Atlantis for IMAX), he has recently
added computer art to his creative menu. His work has been the subject of three books, as well as being featured in numerous
publications - most notably OMNI magazine - and on a number of CD covers, including those of Santana and Kitaro.

New York City
born, Venosa was transported into the world of fine art in the late 60's after having experimented with psychedelics and having
seen the work of the Fantastic Realists - Ernst Fuchs and Mati Klarwein in particular - both of whom he eventually met and
studied under. Of his apprenticeship with Klarwein, Venosa says, "What a time (Autumn, 1970) that turned out to be! Not only
did I get started in proper technique, but at various times I had Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Jackie Kennedy and the good doctor Tim Learyhimself peering over my shoulder to see what I was
up to.

That loft was the energy
center in New York,
and I reveled in it. And somehow, miraculously, in the midst of all the nonstop pandemonium taking place every day I learned
to lay the paint down properly. Even though it was ever put to the test , discipline was one of the more important necessities
that Mati emphasized and - through his own adherence - strongly impressed on me: I could only join in the festivities after
my work was done and all brushes were washed. Mati taught well the techniques of painting and, even more relevant, of quality
living. I'm honored to have been one of the fortunate few to have studied with him."

Presently Venosa maintains
studios in both Boulder, Colorado, and Cadaques. He also
devotes a few weeks each year giving workshops at such institutes as Naropa in Boulder, Skyros Institute on the island of
Skyros in Greece, and Esalen at Big Sur, California.